She seems to be thinking hard all the while biting her lower lip. She looks cute as a button, and if we had time I'd trick her into spending another hour with me in bed.
"Only a few appointments. What did you have in mind?"
"I wanted to go with you to the shelter and have them do the paperwork for fostering Buddy."
"We could go around eleven in the morning. How does that sound?"
"Like we just made plans together."
She smiles at me and I almost stagger back by how her beauty blows me away. The more time I spend with her, the more I want it to be forever. I don't want to scare her away, though, so I keep my mouth shut.
"Can I keep him with me? The sheriff won't mind me having him in the office. I've got tons of paperwork to do."
"Sure, if that's okay, I don't mind. He can always stay here."
"I want to do some bonding with him."
"Is this a male thing that I don't know about?"
"He makes me happy."
"Then you definitely need to take him with you today. I'll see you at eleven."
"Okay. Let's go, Buddy."
The morning goes by pretty quickly. Everyone at the police station is excited to have the puppy in the office. The sheriff even gives him a treat and a pat on the head. I'm looking forward to eleven o'clock when I go to the shelter with Emma until a known figure walks into the police station.
The woman, Buddy's ex-owner, goes to the front desk. She seems agitated and raises her voice several times. The clerk is not pleased with her behavior, but policy is to try to de-escalate any issues. I don't want to get involved, but more importantly, I don't want her to see Buddy here with me.
Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens.
"Hey, that's my dog. I want him back."
I look at the woman from my desk, but don't react. I don't want any trouble here at the office. The woman, however, starts to shout and keeps pointing at me and the dog. The clerk is unableto stop her when she moves to come inside where our desks are set up.
"That is my dog. You stole him from me."
"He's no longer yours as you can't take care of him properly."
"You can't take him from me, he's my property."
"That's already been decided, ma'am. You need to go back to the front, pay your fine and be on your way."
I look around and the whole station is up in arms because of the woman. I look towards the sheriff's office and know he'll be out any second now. Buddy is behind me, so scared he's trembling. This gets me angry, but I don't notice the woman trying to get to the puppy.
"DO NOT TOUCH THAT DOG."
Emma's voice has the entire police station frozen. The woman is now encroaching on my space, and I take a step back with Buddy.
"I don't know who you are, but that is my dog. I've come here to take him home with me."
"You were abusing that dog, and he's not going anywhere with you."
"It's hard to keep up with a new dog."
"Furrylicious is nearby and you could take him for grooming and checkups there."
"I live on a fixed income."
